While working as an elevator operator at Rockefeller Center in the 1950s, long after his heroic service in both World Wars, Eugene Bullard faced daily condescension and racism. He was the first African American military pilot. Despite this, he became known for his unfailing kindness, even to those who disrespected him.

He'd memorize the names and preferences of regular passengers, help lost children find their parents, and share encouraging words with anxious job seekers heading to interviews. When asked why he maintained such grace in the face of disrespect, he said, "I decide who I am." Through his deliberate kindness in the face of justified retaliation, Bullard claimed his fundamental power. The power to define himself.

Like Bullard, you face moments every day when you must choose between reactive justice and radical kindness. Your instinct in challenging moments might be to react, to teach someone a lesson, to prove you’re right.

But pause. Consider the other person's reality. This is where kindness becomes radical. See the whole person, not just their actions. People rarely act from pure malice. Their words may cut. Their actions may wound. But beneath it all, they act from pain, fear, ignorance, exhaustion, or overwhelm. Just like you. Just like me.

What makes this kindness radical is that it demands more of us, not less. It requires us to transcend our own hurt and see the bigger picture. That beneath our conflicts and differences lies a fundamental connectedness.

Radical kindness, as the ancient yogis knew, flows from recognizing our shared humanity. Our shared universal essence. Our real selves. Our spirits. So choose kindness, like Eugene Bullard did. Because we are all connected. Because we all yearn to be seen. Because we all carry wounds that need healing. Because in the end, our capacity for kindness is what makes us most human.

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